Pokemon Tabletop Adventure: Dungeon Crawling
by Demeristraz
Summary: Inspired by LordsFire's Dungeon Crawling Series. A gratuitous self insert fic in which a total nerd attempts to survive a world in which heroes and villains duke it out with powers based off of the Pokemon Tabletop Adventures game.
1. Chapter 1

I'll be the first to admit I'm not a light sleeper, by any stretch of the imagination. I've slept through some of the worst weather in North America, and a few minor earthquakes without even interrupting my dreams. When I travel, rather than having difficulty sleeping, I find sitting in a car or airplane puts me right out. Don't get me started on travelling over open water, the moment I step foot on a boat it's a constant struggle to stay awake.

Which is probably why it took me so long to wake up in this situation. The first thing I noticed was how warm I was. Not the 'I'm wrapped in too many blankets' warm, or even the 'space heater is on in my room' warm. It's the odd sensation of having your entire body wrapped in an evenly spread warmth. The kind of warmth that matches your own body temperature so well that it's hard to tell where your own body actually ends.

Naturally, the first thing I did was open my eyes.

Which sucked.

With sight restored I quickly noticed a lot of out of place things. Namely, I'm stuck in a god damn test tube. Alright, don't panic, what are the odds this is all some strange dream?

...

Highly unlikely.

At best.

So stay calm, inspect the surroundings, and save the freak out for later.

Tube filled with strange warm green liquid? Check.

Breathing mask over face? Check.

IV's to keep me drugged and/or fed? Check.

Naked? That would be another Check.

Does it say something about me that the last bit bothers me more than the others? Probably.

Alright, so things inside the test tube seem to be rather useless. Self-depreciatingly so. Outside is kind of blurry, what with it being tinged green from the tube-goo and dimly lit. Though if I squint a little...

Is that...?

Yes. There is a naked teenage girl standing in the hall in front of me. With pink hair.

It's natural. Yes, I looked, even in situations like this I have my priorities.

_Select Species_

Gah! Alright, I take back everything I ever said about Telepathy being cool. And I know that was Telepathy because there's no way any noise went through my ears.

Also, the voice smells like cinnamon.

Species? I'd already guessed I was going to be some kind of science experiment, but I never figured I'd get a choice in the matter. Do I have options strange mind voice thing?

Immediately several hundred images flash through my mind at the speed of thought. I'm not past the first one before I recognize what's going on.

Pokemon.

I'll admit, I grew up on the games and show, and still purchase each new one that comes out. I'm not a rabid fan... I've had my shots. But I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to the game.

Still, pouring over the information given, I can't help but notice one thing. Each and every one of the available pokemon is stated out using the Pokemon Tabletop Adventure system.

Right, given the options... No legendaries, that makes sense. No pseudo-legendaries either, so no choosing Hydreigon and going on a rampage.

That leaves, what, six hundred odd choices?

Let's see... Given that I'm stuck in a sci-fi tank of scienceness, I very much doubt I'm choosing my starter pokemon for an adventure. It also doesn't seem like the kind of world to have a mystery dungeon theme.

So, ideally, I want something with a broad moveset that can function well as a one mon team. Anything with a double weakness is right out.

My mind skims past Smeargle for a moment. Amusingly enough, with the way stats work in PTA, Smeargle isn't the trap most players of the video games see him as. One stat per level means that while a level 1 Smeargle has 29 total stats, and a Dragonite has 60, at level 100 it's a comparison between 129 and 160, a much closer fight.

Still, one Sketch per 10 levels would leave me crippled for most of the game, and there's no guarantee I'll find good moves to sketch any time soon either. So bench the artistic dog for now.

With no trainer feature shenanigans being guaranteed, some of the other 'broken' pokemon are nerfed as well. Shame.

I wrack my brain trying to figure out what to do. Most people would probably pick their favorite pokemon without giving it much thought. Hell, I know a good chunk of people would pick Charizard right away, despite the... Exploitable weaknesses.

Though of Mega Evolving has been implemented...

There's a thought. Scrolling quickly through the list in my mind (It's kind of like a head's up display at the moment. I could wax poetic about how all this information being jammed into my head changes and evolves due to my own perceptions but...) I find that surprisingly enough, the Kalos pokedex has been added.

Laughing maniacally, I start scrolling down to Clawitzer. Let's face it, a standard moveset with great type coverage, powered up by the ability Mega Launcher? Plus, being pure water type means only two weaknesses and four resistances.

And then something else catches my eye. The starters.

For those of you who haven't played PTA, let me explain a little. Every pokemon in the game is given a variety of abilities. They're divided between normal abilities, and high abilities. Normal abilities are usually what you find on pokemon caught in the wild, and high abilities are their standard hidden abilities. On top of that, every pokemon is given something like 'torrent' for their type. These are all given as options.

Every pokemon starts with one base ability, and once they hit level 40 they gain another. The second one can be a hidden ability, but doesn't have to be.

Now, the reason this can be important is, stacking abilities can get ridiculous. Ursaring, for example, can get Guts AND Quick Feet. On top of that, because all of the starters usually only have 'last chance' abilities like Torrent, well... The PTA creators took it upon themselves to give them two normal abilities each.

Enter Froakie. Or rather, Greninja. Standard Greninja is Water/Dark, and has Torrent as a normal ability, with Protean as a high ability.

Protean alone is game changing. Being able to change type with every attack can completely change the outcome of a battle.

But that's not what caused me to pause.

Under Greninja's normal ability entry were the following: Torrent (Powers up Water type moves in a pinch), Dark Art (Powers up Dark type moves in a pinch.), Pickpocket (Steals enemy held item when using a melee move, once per day), Unburden (Raises speed when held item is used/lost)

Pickpocket and Unburden being the two new choices.

Forget Clawitzer, I know what I'm playing.

'Select Greninja' I think really hard. I imagine I probably looked a little odd doing it, but I don't really know how to work the system.

_Player will have access to the movesets of: Froakie ,Frogadier, Greninja._

_Is this okay? Y/N_

Oh... That's pretty cool. No need to worry about missing out on Bounce by evolving Frogadier too early. 'Yes'.

_Current Base Relations are: SpeedAttack=Special AttackHp=Defense=Special Defense_

_Select Nature?_

Ah, the big problem with Greninja rears its ugly head. As far as PTA is concerned, Greninja has equal Attack and Special Attack. Normally this would be great, as I could build him as a mixed attacker. The problem though, is that in general mixed attackers aren't the way to go. Splitting points between them just makes you half as strong as someone who doesn't.

So what? Well... The way base relations work, I'm not allowed to bump any of Greninja's stats higher than his speed, and my health and defenses can't grow higher than my Attack OR my Special Attack.

Which means unless I want to be a glass cannon, I can't Not build Greninja as a mixed attacker.

That's where natures come in. They let me lower one stat by 2 (the equivalent of 20 in the video game) and raise another by 2. This can change the whole base relation thing around.

Obviously I'm lowering Special Attack. The problem is, that puts it at 8, and Hp, Defense, and Special defense are still sitting at 7.

Well, better hope I'm fast enough to dodge.

'Set nature to Jolly'

_Current Base Relations are: SpeedAttackHpSpecial AttackDefense=Special Defense_

'Accept'

_Assign Stats_:

_Level: 5_

_Hp: 6 Atk: 6 Def:6 SAtk: 6 SDef:6 Spd:6_

_Points remaining: 29_

...What.

That's the point spread for a trainer, not a pokemon. I should start with all of my points spent, based on the fact that I'm a Greninja. With a total like this... I'm about as strong as a level 5 Dragonite.

Well, assuming base relation still hold...

'Hp: 14 Atk: 16 Def: 6 SAtk: 7 SDef: 6 Spd: 16'

_Acceptable._

_Select Name to continue._

Looks like there's no rule against tied stats. Lucky me.

Alright. The last step is a name I guess... Ninja frog huh? Well, I guess I could pay homage to one of my favorite video games.

Here's to you Yosuke. Let's do this 'Jiraiya!'

The girl in front of me smiles. It's one of those kind, genuine smiles, filled with that warm sort of unconditional love you'd get from a parent or older sibling or soul mate. Before I can puzzle out what it means, there's a sharp pain in my arm. Huh, I guess I missed the terrifyingly large needles during my investigation.

Nuts.

And then everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

I open my eyes a good bit quicker next time.

Tank filled with green goop? Check.

Breathing mask and IV? Yep.

Big scary needles? Conspicuously absent. As are my clothes.

I'm still hung up on that.

The naked girl is gone too, which is kind of a shame.

On the plus side, I feel better than I ever have before. Not happier, or stronger or anything like that. Just... Better. Like I'm more than I was a few... Minutes? Hours? Who knows how long I've been out.

I look the same, as far as I can tell. A bit more muscular maybe, but I've always been so thin that my muscles stand out anyways.

Oh, yeah. The reason I woke up. Apparently there's some kind of emergency, since there's big red lights flashing somewhere just out of sight. I'd imagine there's alarms going off as well, but the super comfortable goop I'm sitting in muffles out most of the sound.

To hell with this. I'm not sitting around in this weird tank any long than I have to. Winding up I throw the hardest punch I can at the glass.

There's a muffled thump as my knuckles rap against the glass. Apparently the goop is about as thick as molasses.

I stand by my statement though. I'm getting out of here... Just as soon as someone gets me out.

A few moments later a couple of people come running into view. Based on the way their dressed, I'd say they aren't security.

Let's see. There's a cute scrawny little girl with short brown hair, wearing a white gi that's way too big for her, who looks far too calm about the situation. Her sleeves trail almost a foot past where her hands must end.

Behind her there's a slightly bulky guy with a red backpack and red biker helmet with black spots on it. In keeping with the biker/power ranger theme, he's also got a red jacket with black spots on it. Something about him gives me the creeps.

Our third suspicious character looks like he stepped right out of an anime. Straight up bishonen looks, faded metal band t-shirt and torn jeans, both of which show off his muscles, and brown hair spikier then should be physically possible. He's also got a pair of... Katars? Strapped to his wrists. First weapons I've seen so far.

Alright, so, if the first two are Biggs and Wedge, (Or Jessie in this case), that guy would be Cloud. So where's...?

The entire group turns as the apparent leader strolls in like he owns the place. If 'Cloud' looked like the biggest street thug on the block, the new guy (who I've already nicknamed Barret.) looks like he could pound most trained marines into the dirt.

He's dressed the part too, with fatigues that are mostly yellows and blacks in place of the usual camouflage, and dog tags and whatnot. The blonde buzz cut makes him look like Lt. Surge himself.

He barks a muffled order, and the group splits up, wandering the area and peering into the tanks one by one. Lucky me it's the chick that finds my tank first, and I give her a cheery smile and wave.

No reaction.

Damn she's a cool cucumber.

She shouts something to the others, and I guess she gets a response, because a moment later she's shooing me to the back of the tube. I shrug and go with it.

That's when it happens for the first time. The girl, I really shouldn't be calling her that, she isn't much younger than me, crouches down and Springs into the air. Like one of those actors in a martial arts movie, with wires and everything. Her foot lashes out and I'm filled with a sudden gut-wrenching terror. It's like opening your fridge in the morning for breakfast, and instead of eggs there's a live tiger staring at you. That sort of panic.

Her foot hits the glass and there's a deafening crack, even through the green goop. A moment later and the tube is coming apart all around me, leaving me standing naked in a cold room, covered in steadily cooling slime.

I quickly remove my mask and the Iv's, taking big sucking gasps of cold stale air. As soon as my heart is under control I look down at my 'savior'.

Think of something witty, think of something witty, think of something witty...

"So... Come here often?"

I frown at myself. For various reasons.

Reason the first; That was lame. I'm usually better at stuff like this.

The second? That wasn't my usual voice. Normally I don't... Croak, when I speak. Oh well, maybe it's just because I haven't spoken in who knows how long.

Oh well, my rescuer doesn't seem to care one way or another. She's already off checking more tanks.

So, with a shrug, I crouch down and leap from the wreckage of my tube... Easily clearing six or so meters before skidding to a stop on the now-slimy floor.

"Whoa..." I can't help but vocalize my amazement, checking over my body once more. My legs look the same as they always have, maybe a little bit more muscular, but their proportions are still the same. I don't seem to be any lighter than usual either. So...

I crouch down and leap once more, putting as much effort as I can into it.

And easily hit the ceiling.

That's when I find out the second cool piece of new information.

Just when I think I've made a terrible mistake, and I'm going to concuss myself on the pipes and wires overhead, I reach out and... Stick.

It's not an adhesive sort of stick. Like tape or glue or Velcro. It's more like I'd imagine the ninja from Naruto feel when they walk up walls. Like there's some kind of internal energy moving through my skin to hold onto the ceiling above me.

Cool beans.

"Hey!" The biker from before calls up at me. Man, why do all these people give me the creeps? "You going to come down sometime today so we can get you out of here?" Seems like the feeling is mutual. Better say something nice to reassure him.

"Depends. Got any extra pants in that dumb looking backpack of yours?" I snark back.

What the hell Me. That's what I wanted to say, but totally not the way I wanted to say it.

By this point the rest of the gang has assembled.

"None of the others are awake at this point. Waking them up could seriously injure them." The spiky haired thug reports. For some reason I like that guy. Unlike all the others, I feel like I could take him in a fight... Which is a very silly thing to be thinking.

"Leave them then. We got one, that means the whole thing isn't a bust." The boss replies, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring up at me. "There's a break room down the hall with spare uniforms for the guards. We can raid that on the way out. Now get down here." He barks.

"Yeah, yeah." I grumble, dropping down between Spiky and the Karate Kid.

"You going to tell us your name? If you even remember it." The spotted biker asks as we all head for the exits.

"Once it's suitably dramatic." I shrug. I honestly can't remember my original name at this point. Just the nickname I told that suspiciously mysterious girl.

The trip to the break room doesn't take long. There's a couple of downed guards lying about the room, as well as some really broken furniture. Including the coffee maker, which is kind of a shame. I'm pointed towards the closet, and the gang leaves me alone long enough to change.

The uniforms suck. It goes without saying. Most evil organizations have crappy uniforms, which gives them an excuse to have the really strong guys wear unique clothes I guess. But still... Nothing but generic grey fatigues and berets to work with...

Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. I throw the clothing on, and take a moment to admire myself in the mirror.

The blue hair is new. Still short and shaggy though, the way I like it. I'm a not very tanned, but the stark white eyebrows certainly stand out against my skin. And my eyes...

Oh boy. White Sclera, that's normal. Red irises? Uncommon but not unheard of. White pupils? Whole other ball game.

One thing left to do. It's been bugging me since I woke up. Well... Many things have been bugging me, but this one in particular.

Grabbing a spare jacket, I quickly get to tearing it to pieces. Eventually I manage to tear a single long strip from sleeve to sleeve, and tie it around my neck like a scarf. "Much better." I sigh, my mouth suitably muffled behind the thick fabric. I'll get a real scarf soon, I promise myself.

Right-o, now would be a good time to check out my character sheet, before the damn tutorial battles start. Naturally, I stand here like an idiot talking to myself before I manage to bring up some of my statistics...

Okay, that's kind of a problem. See, since the system has different stats for humans and pokemon, and apparently I'm a bit of both, there's some overlap. Makes sense in some situations, as Constitution is the same as Hp, and Strength is Attack, and Dexterity is Speed. Hell, even Intelligence and Special Attack being the same can sort of fly. Wisdom being Defense, kinda makes sense if you squint at it? Maybe?

That leaves Charisma being Special Defense.

Oh joy. If I go through with my planned build, I'm going to have no common sense or social skills...

Meh, suits me just fine. I'll be the strong silent ninja type.

That leads us to moves.

Night Slash. Hell yeah. I'm going to use the hell out of that...

As soon as I find a knife or something. God damn it, who the hell decided this game should be realistic!

Anyways, moving on. Role Play... Situational, but can be useful.

Pound and Growl... Well, Pound can be useful in this setting. Can't knock At Will moves, especially at low level. As for Growl? Maybe it'll help my batman impression?

Bubble. My only water type move. Only ranged one too. Guess I'll be keeping that for a while, crappy special attack stat or not.

There's sounds of shouting outside. Seems like the guards have found my new 'friends'. Good thing I just finished reading the last move on my list.

If this works I'll look so badass...

Timing it as well as I can by the sounds of shouting, I rush for the shut door of the break room. A few meters from it I jump, spinning around to add more momentum to my powerful legs. 'Mat Guard!' I shout mentally, (Ninja should never actually call their attacks.) and kick the damn thing off the hinges.

The looks on everyone's faces are priceless.

Well, everyone but the Karate Kid. Does nothing phase that girl?

Anyways... Buzz cut is sparking like a live wire, Polka-dot looks ready for a brawl, Spiky has is katars out, and the chick is in a very impressive stance.

Behind me, the door hanging in mid air catches about a half dozen bullets in its wood. Luckily none of them penetrate the damn thing, I know Mat Guard shouldn't allow that, but who the hell knows.

The splintered remains of the door crash to the ground, and I turn to face the four pistol toting guards. "Fear not! For it is I, the Gallant Jiraiya! Champion of Justice!"

Fuck you low Charisma score.

I pose dramatically, drawing myself up to my full height, arms crossed over my chest. One of the guards snaps out of his shock, and fires a shot from his pistol. The round slams into my shoulder.

Fuck you low Wisdom score.


	3. Chapter 3

Ow.

No, seriously. That hurt like crap.

But that's about all it did.

Alright, so I just got shot with a pistol. Obviously it wasn't a critical hit or anything, but shouldn't that do more to a person?

Mentally bringing up my stats once more... Oh, I see the issue. Yeah, that shot took out a good 5 of my hp, after defense. Against a standard level 5 pokemon, that would be like 20% of its health.

Remember how I mentioned I was using trainer stats for some reason? Yeah, after that 5 damage I'm now at 67/72 hp.

I still don't want to be shot again.

Everyone else seems to be stunned by my entrance still, so... 'Bubble!' I mentally shout, feeling my chest expand with air. There's an odd wooshing sensation and a bullet of water-wrapped compressed air shoots from my mouth. It streaks down the hallway and slams into one of the guards. Not the one that shot me. If video games have told me anything, it's that you should try and wipe out people who haven't gone yet, in order to minimize the damage you take.

The bubble slams into the guy with a deafening bang, which makes my inner ninja cringe, and sends the guy staggering, but doesn't knock him out. This seems to be the cue for my oh so brave rescuers to step up and do their job.

They descend upon the pack of poor guards like wild animals, fists and blades and electricity flying about the cramped hallways. It's actually terrifying to watch, and I think I've figured out why. I'm a Water/Dark type. It's apparently built into who I am to be afraid of bug types, and electric types, and fighting types... Spiky is still cool though, I think he may be something that's weak to one of my types. I'll ask later.

It's honestly a few seconds before I can pluck up my ballsy courage and join the fray. Not because of some mooks with pistols, after being shot once I know they aren't that bad. But out of fear of being caught in the crossfire. When I do, I decide to play it smart. Slinking up to the group, one of the injured guards backs up and points his gun towards the Karate Kid. (I've really gotta learn their names). Shrugging at my good fortune, I conk him on the head with a Pound.

The poor bastard, already softened up by my allies, goes down like a sack of bricks.

The rest of them mop up, and I'm hit with a mental notice that I've gained 100 experience. Woo. Hoo.

Yeah, seems like mooks with pistols are worth about as much as caterpie are.

Whatever, it brings me up to level 6. A whole extra attribute point for me. Yay.

Attack can't go any higher, so speed it is.

There's like 5 bucks in the pocket of the guy I 'downed'. Yoink.

And he has a knife and pistol. Double yoink.

Wait... There were a bunch of knocked out guards in the break room... They may have had knives... I could have been using Night Slash...

Curse you low Wisdom stat.

I'm honestly not sure if I can blame that on my stats, but I refuse to acknowledge my own stupidity. Woops, the Poke-rangers are talking.

"We're going out the way we came in. Stick close, and keep your guard up." Buzz barks, causing everyone to look serious.

I toss my knife up and down a few times, wondering if I'd look cooler using two.

Heck yes I would. I swipe another knife off of the chick's opponent. She's stoic enough that if she cares she won't say anything anyways.

So the five of us go on our merry way. With me making good use of my Stealth capability. Nifty thing that, it basically lets me instinctively move in the best way possible to remain hidden. I'm like the god damn batman. Except I can stick to walls, and ceilings. Well... One ceiling. Most rooms don't have more than one. Oh look, something else is happening.

We'd rounded yet another corner in this maze of a place. Wherever we are, it certainly isn't above ground. A couple of the walls we pass are glass, showing very expensive lab equipment inside. If there were scientists here, they probably bailed once the alarms started going off. Makes me wonder though. The whole place seems too well funded to be some kinda basement illegal kind of set up. Mind you, they could be like Umbrella Corp. Hiding illegal stuff under novel science stuff. But still... I'm fairly certain Spiky there killed one of those guards...

Oh well, I'm safer following them for the moment. If I get captured, I'll just claim I'm seriously confused... Which wouldn't even be a lie.

Anyways, eight more guards. This time they're flanking us. Four from the front, four from behind. They haven't seen me yet so, from my perch on the ceiling, I scoot down behind the ones bringing up the rear. Odds are I'm faster than the mooks, but It'd be best to let them fire on my allies first, then attack. It's a dick move I know, but...

The rescuers move first, Buzz and Spiky take the ones in front, Buzz with what looks like a Thunder Punch, Spiky with a swipe of his katar, which for some reason gives me the heebie geebies all of a sudden. Fury Cutter maybe?

That leaves the other two to rush the ones below me. Helmet-Head leads with a series of punches I can barely follow, probably Comet Punch, and the Karate girl follows up with a Jump Kick to the same guard, sending him down in a heap. Smart tactics that.

The guards manage to open fire at that point, but most of the team manage to dodge. They are definitely higher level than me. Oh well, show time.

Silent as I can be, I focus on my knives, covering them with darkness as I drop down behind the slowest guard. Skipping the theatrics this time, I quietly lash out as I pass him by, clipping him across the back with a Night Slash. It's an odd feeling, pulling on this kind of power. I won't say it's evil but... It's like standing in pitch black darkness, and knowing that no matter what you do, no one can see you, or judge you for it.

Anyways, I'd imagine for the guard it feels a bit different, since both blades tore a rather wicked set of lines across his back. He lets out a growl and turns to face me, while the other two remaining guards keep focusing on the others.

He levels his gun at me, and I have a spark of inspiration. Dropping both knives from my hands, I feel a sudden surge of energy, like I'm lighter on my feet. Unburden has taken its effect. As the mook levels his gun at me, I surge forward, driving my knee into his face with a mighty Pound.

There's a rather disturbing crack and crunch, and the guard goes down.

Hell yes, I'm going to be abusing that ability so much in the coming days.

The rest of them take down the others without too much trouble. I Night Slash one more, just in case it effects the experience distribution, but leave everyone I fight alive. I don't know nearly enough about the situation to justify homicide.

Collecting a couple more bucks and a few more knives, just in case, I follow the group on their merry way. There's a couple of skeptical looks in my general direction as we travel. Seems like Bug boy, the one in the helmet which I'm fairly certain is a Ledian of some sort, is a little bit wary around me. Probably because of my use of Night Slash. I'd imagine for a non-Dark type, that'd be a bit disturbing.

I still call it racism though. Just cause I'm a Dark type...

Anyways, as we walk I bank the 200 experience from the fight. That puts me to level 7, woo hoo. Another point earned, another point in Attack.

No new moves yet, which is kinda sad, but not unexpected.

A few moments later, we come to a dead end hallway. The troops look around for a few moments, making sure we're alone, before they pull up a mat that perfectly blends in with the floor. Useful thing that. Underneath is a hole, that likely leads to an absurdly spacious sewer.

"Alright, Mei, Bret, you two go first." He motions to the Karate Kid and Helmet. At least I have two names to go on now. The two nod in agreement and hop down, and Buzz turns to me. "Keep an eye out down there. The sewers are crawling with Ferals."

At that point I had to finally break the silent treatment. "Ferals?" Hah, take that low Charisma. One word sentences are hard to fuck with.

"People like us, but that lost their mind. They're more animal then people now. They're scary strong, but easy to outsmart, so fight smarter, not harder." Spike replies. Holy crap this place has Wild Pokemon too. Wonder what they're like?

"Enough talk, we're on a time limit. Hop in." Buzz cuts off the conversation, and I easily hop into the hole.

Great thing about being able to jump high, you can naturally stick landings without trouble. It's rather dark in the sewers, not to mention the smell, but I can still see rather well. Once again, probably due to my typing. I also have the feeling I'd be safer in the waist deep water, regardless of how untrue that likely is, or how unsanitary.

Mei and Bret are a little bit ahead, scouting out the tunnels that fork out from our location. A moment later the other two heroes pop down behind me. "Alright. Stick close and move quickly. There's no guarantee when they'll find the hole, and they may bust out the big guns soon. We're heading back the way we came."

That doesn't tell me jack, so I guess I'm still following these guys. With a nimble hop I'm once again up on the ceiling out of sight. Buzz gives a small frown in my direction, but it doesn't look like he's going to argue about it.

Turns out I didn't have to wait long to get my answer about 'What are Ferals like.' The answer... Well... You know those zombies from 28 days later? Not the shambling rotting ones, but the still living breathing ones? The ones that can run super fast and jump really high and probably throw you across the room? Yeah, take those, and mix them with the ones from Resident Evil 4. Those ones that can communicate at least a little bit, and hunt in packs.

In a word. Terrifying.

Okay, so it isn't the whole type thing telling me Fighting types are dangerous. It's the purely human side of me shouting that you're a sheep, and these things are wolves.

We met our first pack about five minutes in to traversing the sewers. Everything was going well, no sign of trouble, just the steady drip drip drip of water from the leaky pipes. I'd started to wonder why the heck the facility we just left hadn't put security or something down here to prevent break ins.

Turns out, they probably thought no one would be stupid enough to try it.

Tensions were rather high, and I was about to say something, anything to break the silence, when we all heard it. It was the rattle of an aluminum an being kicked, followed by a light splash of water. Everyone turned. It was instinct.

Behind us , right near the corner, was a little kid. Maybe 10 or 11 years old, with scruffy purple hair and torn rags for clothing. The moment we spotted him everyone got into a fighting stance, but he was almost immediately gone around the corner.

It almost happened in slow motion. The kid's ankle wasn't even out of view when everyone's posture changed. Mei attempted to turn around, Bret curled inwards to protect his vitals, Spike spin on his heel, katars coming to bare on whatever lay behind him.

I was suddenly reminded of the saying 'It's never the one you can see that gets you'.

It was Buzz that shouted.

"Trap!"

That's when they showed up.

Four more Ferals, adults this time, with the same crappy clothing and unwashed appearance, but brown hair. They darted around the corner while we were distracted, barreling in at a ludicrous pace. They didn't howl or scream or anything like it. They just darted forward in utter silence.

The first one slammed into Mei, hitting her hard and knocking her off balance, arms already coming out to grapple the smaller girl. The second and third missed their targets, Bret and Spike, the latter giving a nasty swipe from his wrist blades in retaliation. Buzz got hit the hardest, sending him and the Feral tumbling into the rancid water.

Luckily the electrical charge that Buzz had been gathering went wild in the sewage, shocking the attacker lightly and sending him reeling. It still took a few moments for the fearless leader to surface though.

I was seconds away from dropping down to intervene in Mei's fight when the slight girl surprised me once again. Deftly gaining control of the grapple, she managed somehow to overbalance her opponent, sending the grown man spinning headfirst into the concrete floor. Pulling back, her white gi proved she didn't get away without injury, now stained red across the chest and one of the sleeves. "Careful. They bite." Her voice, calm and piercing amid the chaos around her, seemed terribly out of place.

Bret was doing a damn good job as well. Despite being caught off guard, it seems like they had practiced fighting against these types of things before. The attacker that missed him rose quickly to his feet and spun, teeth barred and eyes crazed, only to meet the fist of the helmeted boy, moving at speeds the blurred even in my vision. With a crack, the Feral human spun in place, head leading the charge, and dropped to the floor in a boneless heap.

That's when things got worse. The one still trading blows with Spike started making an awful racket, at first I figured it was some kind of Growl attack, but almost immediately I was proven wrong as four more of the bastards rounded the corner from behind us. We were caught in a pincer maneuver.

Thinking quickly, I pushed off from my perch on the ceiling, shadows clinging to my knives as I prepared to use the same combo as before to head off at least one of the reinforcements. I landed easily, right in front of one of the trailing Ferals, hoping to sow at least a little confusion, and lashed out with both knives.

And missed as the bastard seemed to blur backwards. Undeterred, I dropped the knives, feeling the same sudden burst of speed. My legs coiled, I prepared to jump, planning on hopping off the bastard's face before taking to the ceiling once more.

The bastard blurred once again and, in speeds I could barely follow, slammed into me, sending me flying to the ground a few feet away, clutching my ribs in pain. I took a quick peek at my Hp, watching it slowly drop from a solid 67 to 47/72. Yeah... This was going to suck.


	4. Chapter 4

The Feral person... Or Wild Pokemon, or whatever the hell you wanted to call it...

Lunged forward far too quickly after that last attack, leaving my only a small opportunity to recover. I managed to grasp that opportunity handily, slamming my foot into the knee of my opponent and sending him tumbling to the dirt.

Rolling to my feet, I had a quick decision to make. I could go for my knives, so that I can attempt a more powerful Night Slash, or I could keep up the Pounding, and not leave myself open. Before I could make a decision, the damn thing was on me again.

Quick Attack. That must be what they're doing. My speed is irrelevant in this situation. In that case, holding onto my knives would have been a better idea. Though, by the look of how everyone else is doing, I'd say being faster than the bastard is the only thing keeping it from using its teeth.

Lucky for me, this time when it lunged I managed to duck to the side. My previous knives were out of reach, but I'd managed to grab several more earlier as backups. It took far too long to grab them from my belt, for my taste anyways, and by the time I was ready, the crazed man was on me once more.

Another Quick Attack, the blurred form of my attacker was too non-linear to dodge this time. The full weight of him slammed into me, once more knocking me off my feet. I hit the ground hard, slamming my head against the concrete as I dazedly note my Hp plummeting down to 27/72. Dangerously low. If I'm lucky I can take one more of those, if not...

Slightly panicked, I whip the knives around and go for the throat.

And miss. God damn this is bad. The man claws and scratches at me, trying to find purchase in the grapple. One of his hands finds purchase in my hair, jagged nails digging into my scalp as he uses the leverage to lunge forward, sinking his teeth into my shoulder. If the quick attacks hurt, his bite is agony. I check my health, 2 hp remaining.

Night Slash is on cool down.

I have no idea if help is on the way.

Options swim in my mind. What do I have that can help me?

My only option is pound. He can't counter with quick attack at this range. Not without breaking the grapple first. I don't even know if the numbers will even allow for a knock out but... What else can I do?

My limbs are already feeling heavy, my heart is pounding in my ears so loudly I can't hear what's going on. Grabbing the bastard by the head I rear back and give him an open palm strike, right to the nose.

It connects, and there's the gratifying feeling of his nose breaking under my hand. Sadly, it's not enough to knock him out, and he only starts thrashing harder against me. I've only got one last shot.

I drop the knives.

My arm blurs back, and just before he can bring his teeth down on my neck, I lash out with one last pound. I hit him right in the jaw, the force turning his head at an awkward angle. He thrashes for a moment, making a choked gurgle, before going limp. Dead or not, I don't know, and at this point I don't damn well care.

I can't even be bothered to lift him off my body. Instead, I just lay there, using him to cover me, in case any more of them are lurking about. It's a few minutes before the warm body is hoisted off of me, and dumped unceremoniously to the side. "Holy crap. Are you alright man?" Bret looks down at me.

Don't say anything stupid...

"Do I look alright?" I croak in response. Unable to effectively move.

"Davis, get over here, the new guy is fucked up!" He calls over to the leader. Now I know three names at least. Yay.

The boss, Davis, soaking wet and smelling to high heaven, comes stomping over to me, pulling various trinkets out of his pockets. "Hold on a second. I've got some potions. Get some cloth to bind his wounds." The others scramble to obey, though Mei doesn't look to be in good shape herself, judging by the blood.

The potions are some kind of pinkish liquid that quickly turns to gel when in contact with blood. It's really creepy to watch, since the jelly-like substance literally crawls into your body and fills any gaps, quickly taking on the same color and texture of real flesh. It honestly looks like they're packing the wound with a ditto, and it's partially using transform...

Come to think of it...

Really, really, really creepy.

Well, best not to think to hard about it. Two health potions and 46 restored hp later, and I'm about good to go. I gather my knives, as well as a couple of dollars worth of change from the Ferals. But first...

Haha, 800 experience. Damn those things are worth a lot. Almost makes it worth nearly dying over... Almost.

Puts me up to level 10. Good news. Better news? I now know quick attack.

Well, three bonus points means one each in Hp, Atk and Spd.

The extra hit points from the level and the attribute point are a welcome bonus. Speaking of health, I can't help but point out...

"Doesn't Mei need a potion?" The girl is looking pretty damn bloodied.

"Nah, most of that isn't hers. Besides, she can Regenerate, lucky little..." Bret grumbles in response. Huh... That narrows it down.

"You're a Mienshao?" I venture, getting odd looks from everyone. I dunno how I didn't see it right away, all things considered. They're one of my favorite pokemon. Apparently, no one has ever heard of the actual names for their 'conditions' though, judging by the looks I'm getting.

Well let's see... If I had to guess, Captain Davis over there is likely an Electabuzz. Spike is likely a Sandslash. Bret's a Ledian. Mei is a Mienfoo... And these damn critters that attacked us...

Oh no... Oh hell no.

I did NOT just get my ass handed to me by a Raticate.

... We will never speak of this again.

"Didn't we have somewhere to go?" I change the subject. The rest of them buy it, and soon we're on the move again. If that was a pack of Raticate, I'd hate to run into some zubats. With my luck there's probably a Crobat-man running around town already.

The rest of the trip passes with just as much tension as before the ambush, but we aren't harassed any more. Soon enough we find the grate leading to our exit point. As everyone lines up to climb out of the sewers, I can't help but wonder if that was really just the damn tutorial level. If so, well... It certainly sets the difficulty level high.

So turns out, this world has cars. Vans to be specific. And warehouses and skyscrapers and just about everything else the modern world does. I honestly don't know why I was expecting anything different.

We all pile out of the sewers and into this crappy white van. The kind you wanna write 'Free Candy' on the side of, just for shits and giggles. We make the trip in silence, either because everyone is exhausted or what, I have no idea why. Maybe they just aren't a talkative group.

I should fit right in, if so.

Their hideout is a small run-down apartment beneath a bar. We take the freight lift down into it. Soon as we're in everyone splits off in their own directions, after a brief order from Davis that there will be a debriefing in half an hour. With nothing else to do, I just hang around.

Half an hour passes quickly enough. Everyone else seems to have showered and changed out of their gear. Bret, at least, isn't wearing his biker stuff anymore. He looks like an ordinary kid, for the most part. About 5'4, with short messy red hair and big geeky looking glasses. I can sort of understand why he wears the helmet.

Everyone gathers around the table and takes a seat. I'm not sure if I'm in someone's usual seat, but no one is saying anything. "Alright then. To start things off... Welcome. What do you remember from before the tube?"

That's a tricky question. I'm certainly not going to tell them anything about my 'past life', or my knowledge of pokemon in general. So how about... "Nothing, really." I shrug, figuring it's time for 'pregame exposition'.

Davis sighs and palms his face. "I figured. Most people are a little rusty when they first wake up... Well, you, and people like us, are what are called Deadmen. The Horizon company, the guys who own the place we busted you out of, they're known for producing this gene modifying drug that gives people crazy powers, but takes away their memories. They claim it's all on the up and up, that every one of their test subjects volunteers but..."

"But if they don't remember, who's to say they aren't lying?" I see where this is going.

"Right. Well, we're called Deadmen, because once you are put through the process, you aren't really the same person anymore. Horizon uses them primarily as soldiers, hiring them out to private or national militaries, using them as security, stuff like that." Davis continues.

"And you?" Everyone looks at me at that... Uh oh. "What do you use them for?"

"I bust them out. Give them a choice. Unlike Horizon. They don't care if their test subjects 'change their mind' and don't want to fight." Davis growls.

"And if I don't want to fight for you?" I venture.

"Then you're free to go. We'll help you get an ID and a job. We've done it before." He gives me a level stare.

Alright, seems like he's on the up and up, for now.

"So aside from jail breaking Deadmen, what do you guys do?" I don't really see these guys working day jobs, but who knows? Most of them can pass for normal.

"Mostly, we patrol the neighborhood. Keeping Ferals out, and protecting people from the local gangs. Our turf is rather small, since we can't patrol very far with so few people, but we protect a few hundred innocent normals." Spike, the only guy who's name I haven't gotten yet, pitches in.

"Gangs?" That bears investigating.

"Not all the Deadmen are made by Horizon. There's a lot of illegal trade and trafficking of the gene modifiers, and several groups have been building up armies lately. There's seven major gangs, each with their own rather large territories. We don't go messing with them, and so far they haven't run us out of town." Davis replies, pointing out a map of a rather large city. Sure enough, most of the blocks are marked off in one of seven colors. Only a few parks and the closest few blocks are left as neutral territory.

"What can you tell me about these gene modifiers?" Seems like the next thing to investigate.

"There's two types. The ones that turn you into a Deadman are rare and expensive. There's others that can amplify your abilities though. They're cheaper, but still rare." Alright, so the second type sounds like TMs. Very important to keep an eye out for.

"And the Ferals?" I think I already know, but...

"Not everyone takes well to the process. Quite a few people lose their minds along with their memories. They're dangerous, and need to be put down." A rather stern reply this time. He's trying to justify his own actions, which means he does feel some guilt.

So I have some idea of what I'm doing now. It seems like the biggest objective is to take out these gangs. Seven Gangs, seven districts, seven 'levels'. I don't know if the group is going to go for it, or if I'll end up waging a one man war on crime, but for now it'll be good to have someone watching my back while I get some much needed leveling in. "Last question then..."

"Go for it." There's that even stare again, damn he's got a good poker face.

"This group got a name?"


	5. Chapter 5

Turns out they don't really have a name. Which is kind of a shame really. But at least they didn't pull the standard video game cliché of letting the new guy name them. According to them, naming their group would put them on the same level as the gangs out there. Makes sense I guess. I'm sure some of those gang members think they're protecting their people as well.

I managed to shower and get a good meal in before passing out on one of their spare beds. They're alright in my book, all things considered.

The next day they showed me around the few square blocks they've been protecting.

I gotta say... There isn't much here. A few convenience stores, a super market, and a bunch of low income housing. Mei showed me to the back room of one of the convenience stores. Apparently the entire chain throughout the city sells useful stuff on the side.

I didn't have much in the way of money, just what the Davis lent me to get back on my feet, so I had to make my purchases wisely.

Which sucks because there's a lot of useful stuff back here.

I perused the individually wrapped candies that are piled in one of the bins. According to the labels, they function exactly like berries do for Pokemon. I imagine you could even hold one in your mouth as you fight, so you don't have to go rooting around in your backpack. Handy that.

If this game is anything like Pokemon, five each of the berries that cure the standard status ailments should last me a good long while. Though odds are I'll be coming back for more pecha berries before the end of the week. Poison is a drag.

Other than that, they've got some really cool looking gear. The coolest by far being what looks like a blue and white scuba suit. The shop owner insists it's super durable, and I can tell it has reinforced areas on the joints. Tugging on the fabric, there's no doubt he isn't joking.

Still... That'd put me back a few grand, even if I can haggle it down. I'll have to find a way to make money, and come back for it.

I do pick up a half dozen kunai, trading in my old knives to make up some of the difference. They're a bit lighter weight and easier to handle then the old knives, plus well... Not many people know this but kunai weren't originally weapons, but tools. They were mainly used for digging and as climbing aids, later sharpened so that they could be used as a weapon in a pinch. They were never designed for throwing, but I imagine once I have access to Fling that won't matter.

The last thing that catches my eye makes me grin wickedly. Smoke balls. In the game they're rather mediocre, just allowing you to flee without fail. In a life and death situation like this?

I spent the last of my money on three.

So, with most of my wallet empty, aside from some extra funds put aside for food at a later date, I head back out to explore the city.

A couple hours later Spike volunteers to take me on a patrol with him.

That's another thing I learned. His name is actually Spike. Go figure right? I guess it kinda makes sense, no memories means everyone gets to make up their own names. Anyways, the intrepid Sandslash and I patrolled for a few hours, which basically amounted to us wandering the alleyways past nightfall, looking for trouble.

I would have preferred roof hoping, but not everyone can be as cool as I am.

After we walked the third nice young lady home from work I really started to get bored. Honestly, I know I said I'd stick with these guys for now, but I was sort of expecting more random encounters.

I really should be careful what I wish for.

I think we both noticed the scream at the same time. Which is lucky since we both bolted towards the sound without a word. Three streets over we hit a pitch black alleyway, but it may as well have been high noon for all it hampered my vision. The source of the scream was a young girl, maybe 15 or 16, laying on the floor of the alleyway with another figure pinning her down. Judging by how feebly she was struggling, I have no doubt that bastard got her good.

Without even breaking my stride I dash forward, kunai already drawn and ready. The attacking figure looked up from the girl, red eyes gleaming in the low light, and did the first smart thing that came to mind. It ran.

I don't know what came over me, but seeing the bastard scurry off down the alleyway made my blood boil, so I activated quick attack and pursued him. The sudden burst of speed caught me a bit off guard, and I got some severe tunnel vision from it, but managed to clip him as I overshot my target. He tumbled to the ground but rolled with it, easily coming to rest in a crouched position, and taking off once again.

Behind me, I was dimly aware of Spike calling for me to wait, already pulling potions from his pack to help the girl, but I didn't want to let the bastard get away. Already he was disappearing around another corner, into the mazelike section of alleyways near the edge of the group's territory. Undeterred I gave pursuit, taking to the walls as I ran to get a better vantage point on it.

It took me four blocks to finally catch the flighty bastard, just in time for him to duck into a dilapidated apartment complex. It looked seriously unused, like a really bad crack house, and I got a steady sense of foreboding looking at it. Technically, I was outside of the territory that the group usually patrolled, this place fell within the jurisdiction of Cataclysm. Tacky gang name aside, they owned a seventh of the city and weren't something to ignore.

Still... I wanted a random encounter right? I did ask for this, and there's bound to be some experience and loot in there... Oh who am I kidding, there's no way I'm not going in there. The only question is, how do I want to approach it.

Front door would be stupid. If they're not Feral, they probably have it trapped. If they are... I don't doubt they watch the main entrance of the building anyways. That's assuming there's more than one, which seems likely. Going in through the roof might be a bad idea too. If I got my ass kicked by a Raticate, there's no telling how common something like Pidgey variants would be, and they'd be likely to roost up high.

So, compromise, I'll hop in through a window, say on the third floor? It's a seven floor building, so odds are it'll go unnoticed. Quietly as I can, which is ranges somewhere between a shadow and a ghost, I scale the building, peeking inside at regular intervals. Sure enough, a few glances tell me that a pack of Ferals is using this place as a nest. It's a bit creepy to see them, when they aren't going for your throats. They sort of just stand around, twitching and jerking every so often, wandering about hissing and growling at nothing. Like watching a schizophrenic wolf.

The third window I come across I strike gold. Or as close as I'm going to get to it. A rather small room has a single Feral wandering around in it. The door to the hallway beyond is shut, and the side rooms all seem empty. Though, if it successfully calls for backup, I'm going right back out the window. Hopefully I'm right about the Pidgeys, because I don't want to know if any of these guys can fly yet.

Alright, Solid Snake time. I hop into one of the side rooms, a ransacked bedroom with a broken stained mattress and the shattered remains of a desk and dresser. Secure the area first, loot later. Creeping extra slowly, I step past the splintered wood and glass and slide up to the open door. The target is male, about mid twenties, with a very lithe build... Hair is cream colored, like blonde but... Smoother.

There's gotta be a better way of analyzing these things. On a whim I pop open my mental 'menu' which also contains my stats and character sheet. Hey look, a pokedex! Alright, so scanning takes several seconds, in a situation like this it's not very important.

Turns out this guy's a Meowth. Not too shabby. Probably a speed freak like me, so it'd basically come down to who's a higher level. At least I have Quick Attack if I need it.

Priority moves in PTA are kind of broken. Basically, you can use them at any point in the turn order, so long as you skip your next turn. It's risky, but you can essentially hit someone with a normal move, then follow up immediately with a Quick Attack. The downside is, if you don't take down your opponent they get two free shots at you.

Oh well... Let's see how it goes. I step out into the kitchen area while the Cat-man has his back turned. Much as I want to take to the ceiling, I don't think I'll have that much time before he turns around. Alright, nice and easy, one step forward, two steps...

I barely even blink and suddenly the thing is right in my face, clawed hands lashing out at my face. I stumble backwards, pulling my face back by instinct, and miss the fact that his other hand was going for my kidneys. I bite back a hiss of pain as his claws dig into my flesh, and wince, giving him just enough time do disappear from my view.

Fake Out. Great. Spinning around I catch him coiling up to pounce on me. I drag my kunai up into a guard stance and push forward, meeting his leap mid way. Dark energy flashes across my blades and his teeth as he attempts to meet my Night Slash with his Bite. I'm faster though, and manage to twist out of the way, dragging both blades across the enemy's chest.

Luckily enough, my dodge and the sudden pain throws the Meowth off balance enough that he misses his bite. I spin in place, catching the back of his head and following him to the ground, forcing his face down on the linoleum floor. There's a crunch as he face plants, and I mange to roll away and regain a standing position in time to dodge his flailing claws. It's obvious by this point the damn thing has gone berserk, as it stands up, revealing a definitely broken nose.

Teeth glowing, it lunges for me once again, and I again counter with a Night Slash, hoping to end the scuffle before others show up. My kunai flash out, sinking to the hilt into the Meowth's chest, but doing nothing to slow his attack. Deciding to risk it, I blur forward with a Quick Attack, spinning around my foe and slamming a knife handed strike into the back of his neck. He hits the ground with a crash, struggles for a moment, and goes limp.

I let out a sigh of relief and gather my knives, as well as any money the Fearl had on him. Pressing an ear to the door, I don't hear any others coming to investigate, so I let myself relax a little. A small Ping! alerts me that I just gained 300 experience... What.

That puts me up to 1350exp in total. Meaning it'll be one more of those guys before I even hit level 11. I'd probably have to clear the entire nest out to hit level 15.

Hookay... The good news is, I now have Lick. The bad news is, it's effectively useless against all these normal types.

Well whatever. I loot the room, find a whole lot of garbage and a bit of money, as well as a healing candy which I promptly eat to top off my hp, and then decide to move on.

Sticking to the outside wall, I prowl for a bit. I've got to pick my battles carefully, but at the same time I'm eager to grind my way up to the point where I can stop worrying so much. Three rooms over I hit a conundrum. Three people, each of them looking like old-school gothic vampires, with dark hair and bags under their eyes, hanging upside down from the ceiling. A quick scan puts them all as Zubat. Good news is they should be rather weak.

Bad news is... well... Supersonic. Not to mention they'd have Leech Life, which is Bug type, and thus super effective.

I really need to find some bad guys that I'm super effective against. Honestly.

Oh well, no guts no glory. I creep into the room, climbing up onto the ceiling, and crawling over to the closest sleeping bat. They're relatively small, all things considered, but I try not to let that bother me. No holding back, regardless of what the enemy looks like. With that in mind, I charge my kunai with Night Slash and lunge.

I don't know if it was luck, or the fact that my target was asleep, but my knives easily bite into the neck of my victim. With that single swipe the Mon goes down with a wet gurgle, flailing only a bit before hitting the floor an going still. Well... Damn.

Sadly, that act alone woke the other two up. Here comes the suck. I immediately start dashing towards the second Zubat, as it's buddy launches a Supersonic. The beam of sound waves is actually visible in the air, which helps me dart around it. The second one panics, firing off a supersonic that completely misses as well. Man I'm getting lucky.

With Night Slash on cooldown I can use either Pound or Lick, both of them are pathetically weak. However, Lick has the change of inflicting paralysis on my target. I concentrate for a moment, and pull down my scarf to expose my mouth. My tongue, rather disgustingly, darts out of my mouth and conks the Feral upside the head, causing the vampire wannabe to freeze up and topple to the ground... Was that a second crit? And now he's paralyzed? I'm on a roll!

The last mobile target chooses that moment to close in on me from behind, grappling me and sinking his fangs into my neck. Damn that smarts, stupid bug type moves. I spin in place, falling from the roof deliberately, and ensuring I land on both him and his buddy, who's still twitching on the ground. As soon as I'm able, I bring my knives around for another Night Slash. They cut a deep wound across the vamp's chest and I manage to back away as he fires off another cone of noise, dodging that one too.

His buddy flips and flops on the ground, but is unable to get back on his feet. Lucky me. May as well see if I can keep it up. Scarf comes down, and freakishly long tongue comes out. It hits, but Zubat 3 doesn't seem paralyzed, just kind of grossed out. He makes a terrible screeching racket and dives for another Leech Life...

And falls flat on his face. Seriously? This is getting a bit ridiculous. His buddy... Flops about on the floor like a fish having a seizure. And here I thought this would be challenging...

Another Night Slash to the one in front of me as he climbs to his feet puts him back down on the ground again, permanently. The last Zubat still can't seem to shake off the paralysis... Harsh, but I've had that happen to me in the games before. A Lick doesn't put him down, so I follow it up with a Quick Attack just in case, and the fight is suddenly over.

I check my status window, then double check it incase I'm reading it wrong. 1500exp? That's absurd! They were just Zubat right? 500exp a piece... That 'dings' me up to level 12. Another point in Attack and Speed, surprise surprise, and no knew moves. I finish leveling and putting my knives away when I notice something seriously wrong with the scene around me. Namely the guy in the suit leaning against the wall, applauding my performance.


	6. Chapter 6

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

I turned to face the noise, slowly, surreptitiously reaching for my weapons once more. "Well done! I must say, I'm not sure how much of your performance was luck, but you certainly seem to be able to handle yourself." My audience appeared to be a man in his early twenties, grey hair, glasses, and a stylish suit. Black leather gloves covered his hands, a sword was strapped diagonally across his back, and a pistol hung in a holster on his waist.

I fingered the handle of my knives nervously, bringing up a scan on this guy too. It'd be several seconds before I can get anything conclusive, so best let him talk for now.

"No need to be nervous. I'm just here to talk. My name is Mathew, and I'm from Horizon." At those words I immediately leapt backwards, landing in a crouch behind an old couch I'd noticed earlier. Matthew, for his part, didn't even react to my sudden movement. "Like I said, I'm just here to talk." He raised his hands in a common peaceful gesture.

"So talk then." I croak back at him, not relinquishing my cover. A few more seconds before I know exactly what this guy is.

"I'm not here to drag you back, kicking and screaming, if that's what you're worried about." He stands up from his leaning position. "You're probably confused, which is understandable. The first few days after I woke up I remembered practically nothing. I'm sure your... rescuers, have told you all sorts of things..."

"You're suggesting they lied to me?" I ask, not accusing, just... interested. It wouldn't be the first time I've played in a game where the NPC's lie. Makes for a more interesting storyline.

"I don't really know. I just figured you'd like to hear our side of things." He shrugs, taking a step forward. There's a 'ping' noise that I'm sure only I can hear as my mental pokedex finishes its work. Craptacular, he's a Minccino.

Go ahead, laugh it up, I know Minccinos are pretty much a joke pokemon but... Well let's face it, in a game where abilities can stack, Skill Link and Technician make for one terrifying combo.

"So here's the thing. You may not believe it, but you did sign up for this life. I can't tell you who you used to be. We tried that in the past, but it just led to incidents involving the subject's previous friends and family. Suffice to say, if you did have family, they've been well compensated for your loss." He explains, sounding like he's reading from a pamphlet.

"So most people sign their lives away from others? That's rather virtuous of them..." I mutter, already scouting out exists. My right hand moves from my knife handle to a smoke ball, just in case.

"It's one of those personality types we screen for. The ones who do it for power tend to be rather... Hard to control." Mathew explains, still remaining a respectable distance away, though I have to wonder how good he is with that gun.

"Speaking of hard to control... What's with the gangs ruling this place?" It really doesn't make much sense to me. The way Davis explained it, Horizon has a whole private military of Deadmen, they should be able to wipe out all the gangs in one swoop.

"To be honest, it started out as a small problem that quickly grew out of hand. The gang leaders, they were all part of a special task force before they got sick of following orders and went their separate ways. Some of them set up gangs for power, others set up theirs to keep the peace. Horizon decided it wasn't worth dedicating the resources to deal with them." He shrugs. I do, however, notice the tense he's using.

"Wasn't? What changed?" I think I see where this is going.

"Their raids are getting bolder. They keep stealing from Horizon, and their procedure for creating Deadmen leaves much to be desired..." He gestures halfheartedly at the dead Ferals in the room. "So Horizon has put me in charge of assembling a task force to deal with it."

"So you're trying to recruit me?" Huh... Well, I'm not sure I know what to think of all this. In all honesty, Horizon doesn't sound much better than Umbrella when it comes to employee benefits or general policy but... I was sort of planning on taking out the gangs anyways. Though if he's right about some of the gangs being peaceful, I may have to reassess my strategy.

"Just giving you the option to come in out of the cold. You didn't ask to be rescued by them. It wasn't your fault. From what I've seen so far... I think you would be up to the task." He tosses something at the couch, and I flinch by instinct. Though, when I peek a few moments later I spot a paper business card embedded in the wooden frame of the furniture.

"Give me a call if you need anything. Even if you won't join us, we can still work together if our goals line up." He waves casually as he strolls out the door, like we aren't in a nest full of super-zombies.

Well... That went better than expected. 'Ding'... 450 experience. Huh... Either I just got roleplaying experience... Or just surviving talking to that guy without a fight is worth something. Either way, I highly doubt that the dude was worth only 450 experience.

Oh well, that puts me just at level 13. Another point of speed, which boost my evasion level by one as well. Nifty.

Now, to finally check the room... Was that briefcase there before?

I highly doubt it, since, while it looks like a cheap, nondescript business briefcase, it contains $5000.

Am I being bribed?

I'm totally okay with that.

If I'm going to be a super hero, I'd rather have a Commissioner Gordon on my side then a J Jonah Jameson on my ass.

Right, 5000 bucks goes into the pouch on my waist, alongside that business card, because you never know. And it's off to go hunting again. Preferably more zubats. I can really get into this whole vampire slayer thing. Besides, after all those years of being assaulted by them in video games it's rather cathartic.

Deciding to push my luck, I climb up a few floors to the 'pent house' area. No more zubats, but I do find some pidgey instead. There's two of them, a young man and a teenage girl. Both of them have blonde hair with red streaks at the side. I'm starting to figure that the Pokedex only tells me what evolutionary tree I'm dealing with, because they don't look like pidgey so much as they do pidgeot. Explains why the zubat were worth so much experience though.

Oh well, if I can take three under leveled crobat, how hard can two pidgeot be?

I once more slip into the room and take the closer of the two by surprise with a Night Slash. It's a hit, barely. My blade clips the back of her hip, drawing a thin line of blood across her back as the darkness sinks into her flesh. She lets out a shriek of surprise and spins in place, sending a knee towards my face at alarming speeds. I try to lean back out of the way, but it still hits my jaw, sending me spinning out.

Right into the leg of the male, which literally flew across the room to hit me with an axe kick. I hit the ground, hard, and neither of them look like they're going to let up any time soon. Both speed towards me with another Quick Attack as I roll to my feet, so I decide to meet them half way with a Quick Attack of my own. I blur forward, tunnel vision taking effect as I slam my first as fast as I can into the gut of the injured girl.

It doesn't stop either of them from countering though, and I take another two brutal hits. This two-on-one thing is brutal. Thinking on my feet, I throw a smoke bomb down and run for the window, catching the ledge on my way out and sticking right above the window frame. I catch a break as both of them start using gust to blow away the smoke, and use the time to douse myself in potion. I'm not sure how well it fixes broken bones, but my ribs and jaw feel better almost immediately.

A moment later the male pidgeot comes flying out of the window, looking down at the alley below for any sign of me. I tense, but pause, waiting for a better shot and hoping he doesn't look up. A few seconds after his arrival, the female follows, zipping out of the window right below me. I don't even jump, instead just letting go of the wall and falling into her, knives taking in all ambient light as I drive them towards her vitals. She gives a screech of pain as they dig into her back, and I'm left riding her downwards as she struggles against me.

Damn. I really hoped that would have been a killing blow. Instead she thrashes against me, spinning in place and unable to do much without gaining range on me first. Her mate, as I assume is the case, swoops in for another Quick Attack while we plummet towards the ground. I'm not sure if it's just bad luck or if it's the added instinct of a furious man protecting his lover, but when he slams into me I'm sent soaring through the alley. I can feel the crunch of my ribs, and as I float through the air in slow motion, I'm sure the air forced from my lungs is tinged red with blood. I land a moment later in an open dumpster. Thank goodness for small miracles. And manage to stagger to my feet. The chick, pun intended, is flying back up towards the window we came out of, a sound strategy on her part. The man though, he's still pissed and coming right for me. I don't think I can take him on... 10 hp, so it may be best to cut my losses and run. At the same time...

I throw a healing candy in my mouth, wrapper and all, and chew furiously, running full tilt up the wall as my Unburden takes effect. It's my Quick Attack against the male Feral's Quick Attack. Normally, I'd beat him by a block. With my added boost, I beat him by a mile. The girl hits the window at the same time I hit her, sending us both tumbling into the wrecked apartment. She hits the ground hard and stops moving, I roll to my feet.

I do feel a bit guilty about how brutal I'm being, but when I look at these... Things. I don't see people. It's weird, and were I not stuck in this messed up world it'd be something to seek help about I'm sure, but somewhere in whatever programming I got coming into this 'game' I just know that these things aren't human anymore, and can't be saved.

Of course that justification doesn't save me in the face of her very angry Feral boyfriend. I've got a few seconds before he catches up, so another Potion for me. Feel it take effect as I climb back towards the window, positioning myself right over where he'll no doubt come in.

He pauses, just before entering, and for a moment I think he may see through the trap. But the sight of his downed mate urges him forward, and he swoops right in. I dive down on him with a Night Slash, cutting into his shoulder and back. He howls with agony, both emotional and physical, and I steel myself to finish the job, and put him out of his misery.

He spins out, reorienting himself for another Quick Attack, and I meet him with one of my own. My knee slams into his gut at the same time his fist hits my face. He tries to pull back, to get distance for another one, but I grab him in a bear hug. My legs warp around his waist to hold onto him, and while he can only struggle, I bring my knives down a final time. He gives one final screech before going limp, and crashing to the ground.

I drag myself into the corner and curl up, feeling a terrible mixture of pain, fatigue and emotional turmoil. It never really hit me until now. Seeing how those two acted together, like mates, like lovers... It drives home that these aren't Monsters. At least not how most people would view them. They're like animals. Like lions and tigers and bears. Dangerous, yes, but...

Too dangerous to have in a city filled with innocent people. Too dangerous to leaves nests of them growing among those that can't defend themselves. It isn't their fault, they're a symptom of what's wrong in this world, but until I can treat the disease, I'll have to cull their numbers. I'll be as brutal and underhanded as I have to be, but I'll never torment them. It's mercy killing only.

Shaking off the distress, I search the room for anything of value. There's only a few more bucks, but I pocket it anyways. Those two gave me another 1000 experience. Enough to hit level 14, and get Water Pulse. Somehow, that doesn't fill me with very much pride.

I bump up my attack one more time. Since I have seven naturally learned moves already, I have to ditch one. Water Pulse is a special attack, which lowers its value to me, but at the same time it's an every other turn AoE move, and it can confuse enemies. Handy in quite a few situations.

Since I've yet to find a use for it, I ditch Growl. But not before taking a moment to imitate Batman in the empty apartment. After that's all done and over with, I hop out the window and onto the adjacent roof. I figured Spike would have gone back to base already, and I've had enough grinding for one night. The moment I touch down, though, I know there's going to be even more trouble.

"Yo." A green haired boy, around 17 years old, wearing a dark green track suit, stands in my way. He tosses a duffel bag at my feet, which spills open to reveal about a dozen Potions. "Get patched up. We're going to fight."

I scan him quickly as I do as he says, I'm in no shape to be denying free healing. I'm on my third potion when my pokedex 'pings'.

Sceptile.

I can't help but voice my thoughts. "Are you fucking kidding me?"


End file.
